Chandigarh, December 6: A high alert has been sounded in two districts of Punjab following intelligence inputs that Kashmiri terrorist Zakir Musa could be hiding in the state. Security has been beefed up in Bathinda and Ferozepur districts of Punjab on Thursday following intelligence reports that Musa may be hiding in these areas, disguised as a Sikh and wearing a turban. It must be noted that Musa is the Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind chief and is said to be aligned with a global terror group. Punjab Police officials said here that the high alert had been sounded to nab the terrorist. Punjab on High Alert After Six Suspected Terrorists Spotted in Pathankot. 

According to a report by IANS, the Army, Punjab Police and other para-military have been stationed in and around important places like the Bathinda railway station. Checking was being carried out to prevent any untoward incident. After the intelligence inputs, the security agencies have put up posters carrying photographs of Musa, including one of him disguised as a Sikh, at several places across the state so that people are aware of it in both districts- Bhatinda and Ferozepur. Jaish-e-Mohammed Planning Major Attack In India; 100 Suicide Attackers Take Oath In PoK.

According to reports, the Punjab Police and Jammu and Kashmir Police, in the recent weeks, have busted modules, including engineering students, who had carried out terror activities in Punjab. Even earlier, the posters of Musa were put up in the frontier districts of Gurdaspur and Amritsar in November following similar reports.

Musa had succeeded Burhan Wani as the chief of the terrorist organisation Hizbul Mujahideen following Wani’s death in an encounter with security forces in Kashmir in July 2016. The report further informs that Musa, who heads the terrorist outfit Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind (AGH), a cell of Al-Qaeda, in Kashmir Valley, is believed to be well-acquainted with people in Punjab. Musa was a student in an educational institution in Punjab’s Mohali district, adjoining Chandigarh till 2013 before joining the militant ranks.

In November, security agencies had carried out a search operation in the border belt of Punjab, particularly in Pathankot after four suspected terrorists hijacked a car in Madhopur. Reports informed that four identified men hijacked the vehicle from a man who reportedly hails from Jammu and Kashmir.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 06, 2018 02:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).